Wike-backed BoT chair rejects expulsion from PDP

A factional chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Board of Trustees, Mao Ohuabunwa, has dismissed his expulsion from the party, describing the action as illegitimate and the product of an “unauthorised” gathering.

In a statement issued on Monday by his media office, the former Abia Senator also rejected a meeting announced to be held at the PDP national secretariat in Abuja, insisting that only the duly scheduled BoT meeting and the National Executive Committee session, fixed for Tuesday, would proceed as planned.

Ohuabunwa, who is aligned with the camp of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, described the just-concluded National Elective Convention of the party in Ibadan, Oyo State, as inconsequential.

“It is amusing for anyone to suggest that I, a founding father and current chairman of the conscience of our party, was expelled at a social gathering that some people are calling a convention,” he said.

He argued that the politicians who met in Ibadan on Saturday merely attended a “social end-of-year event among friends.”

Ohuabunwa recalled being present at the landmark 1998 meeting at the old Abuja Sheraton Hotel, now the Continental Hotel, where the PDP was conceived by statesmen such as Alex Ekwueme, Solomon Lar and Adamu Ciroma.

He urged party members nationwide to remain calm, noting that several court rulings, including the Federal High Court orders barring the party from holding any convention, are awaiting determination at the Court of Appeal.

“As loyal party men and women, it is incumbent on us to follow the law.

“We must wait for the courts and, at the same time, embrace reconciliation and unity,” he said.

Ohuabunwa stressed the need to unify all factions toward rebuilding a stronger PDP grounded in fairness, democracy and inclusion, warning party leaders against fuelling division through unauthorised gatherings.

As earlier reported by PUNCH Online, the PDP, at its 2025 National Convention in Ibadan, Oyo State, elected the former Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Kabiru Turaki, as its new National Chairman, and a former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Taofeek Arapaja, as the new National Secretary.

The party also expelled several high-profile members, including Wike, suspended National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu; former National Legal Adviser Kamaldeen Ajibade; former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose; Imo PDP Chairman Austin Nwachukwu, among others, over alleged anti-party activities.

The motion for their expulsion was moved by former PDP Deputy National Chairman (South), Bode George, and seconded by the Bauchi State PDP Chairman, Samaila Buga.

Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, who chairs the PDP Governors’ Forum, later put the motion to a voice vote, which delegates overwhelmingly endorsed, signalling the party’s renewed resolve to confront internal dissent and stamp out anti-party conduct within its ranks.

Meanwhile, two camps are planning separate meetings at the party’s national secretariat in Wadata Plaza, Abuja, on Tuesday.

The Wike-backed group has scheduled an emergency BoT session for 11:00 a.m., while the NEC aligned with the party’s new National Working Committee is set to meet at 2:00 p.m. at the same venue.

A rival faction led by the newly elected National Chairman insists it will also hold its own inaugural NEC meeting at Wadata Plaza. Speaking with reporters in Abuja, Turaki maintained that nothing would stop him and his colleagues from convening, adding that the police had assured him of adequate security to prevent any breakdown of law and order.